


Forever Home

by zorilleerrant



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Cats, Gen, Magnus takes in pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-01
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-27 14:28:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10025504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zorilleerrant/pseuds/zorilleerrant
Summary: Magnus has a soft spot for anyone with nowhere else to go.





	

Most people assumed that Magnus liked cats because of his warlock mark. Really, it was the other way around. Cats were skittish, for the most part, especially the ones that tended to show up at his home, and might only stay for a night or two, just passing through, the same as so many of the downworlders he took in. There were the occasional pets that showed up, of course, well-fed and vaccinated, their coats the glossy sheen of consistent health, too friendly for Magnus to need to flash his eyes at before they climbed in his lap; they usually only stayed a few days, too, before they began missing their families. Some downworlders were like that. Wolves, mostly, who had families to go back to.

Sometimes they stayed longer. Their trust wasn’t always immediate. Even when they looked at Magnus like he was one of them, well, other cats had staked out territory, threatening them away, other cats had stolen their food, other cats had fought over scraps or pride or a warm place to sleep, other cats were only sometimes friends. So perhaps they would turn up one day in three, or when food was scarce, or when it got too cold to sleep outside. It was easier when they’d formed some sort of pact with his cats already. When one of his brought a stray home, the wary look was offered from only halfway under the couch.

Which cats were his was an ever-changing story, though. Cats were like warlocks; he took in whoever had need, but only as long as they wanted him. Cats liked warlocks, too; he lost many a feline friend to better offers, dumped headlong into that mix of jealousy and amusement that meant another of his wards had found a home. Cats made good familiars, of course, and when a warlock found a shadow following them home, well, a good rapport could be hard to find in the magical world. They didn’t always get along perfectly, at first, but Magnus had been taking care of cats and warlocks for years; he always had tips and tricks. For the cats, too, but warlocks were usually easier to train.

Chairman Meow was his only consistent companion for decades now – the name had been topical at the time – and Magnus frequently wondered whether the cat was himself a warlock in disguise. Too weary to change back, perhaps. Magnus understood that. He tried not to take animal form too long, himself, because escape was one thing, and abandonment another. Other times, he thought the cat was perhaps a different immortal, cursed to live trapped in that form. From all the times he’d found Chairman curled up on his stomach and purring, not such a terrible curse after all. It might have been wishful thinking; of all his companions, Chairman was the only one who stayed steadfast by his side.

Of course, it wasn’t only cats that he took in. Most dogs were wary of the supernatural, but there was the occasional pup with boundless enthusiasm for new friends, or the world-weary mutt that didn’t mind that nonsense if they could just agree to ignore each other for the most part. Birds, on occasion, would appear on his balcony, make their way inside, and nest. Every now and then, a less common pet, some turtle or ferret or iguana abandoned outside, would find its way into his home. He didn’t mind. They were often overlooked in favor of the myriad cats, but they were there.

It was like that with Raphael. Magnus hadn’t intended to keep him, not really, just soothe him and patch him up and find him a forever home somewhere more suited to his needs. Vampires were uncommon guests. It was hard to imagine they should be, but then again, only a warlock could really train a warlock, and vampires worked largely on instinct. Or perhaps they didn’t, and what they taught each other simply wasn’t Magnus’s to learn. Raphael was Magnus’s one iguana in a herd of cats; he was polite to the warlocks trying to learn their spells, let them have their space, but narrowed his eyes at them all the same.

The actual cats, though, well, Magnus found Raphael curled up with Chairman Meow and a book on many an occasion. Sometimes they fell asleep like that, leaving Magnus with the challenge of trying to tuck a blanket around the vampire to keep him warm enough, without trapping and overheating the cat. Sometimes Raphael fell asleep completely covered in cats, and at least then Magnus didn’t have to find a blanket.

Raphael learned from him, too. Not magic, but history, naturalism, literature, topics he loved but overlooked in favor of safety and peace of mind. He remembered what it was like to be unsure of one’s skill, and he would never begrudge a student the desperation to learn so many of them appeared on his doorstep with, not with one’s life at stake, and not at the risk of low self-esteem or anxiety or melancholy either. Magic was the only thing many of them felt they excelled at, and for others, the only real topic of interest in their lives. Sometimes, though, it was nice to lecture on something else.

Chairman joined them in their lessons frequently, sometimes relaxing in Raphael’s lap, napping or stretching or sitting, and sometimes seeming to read a text or two. Magnus was unsure whether the cat was actually gaining knowledge, but it couldn’t hurt. The soft curl of fingers behind ears soothed Raphael into a rhythm of learning; he always absorbed more with that small head butting up against his hands. Raphael tended to give Chairman too many treats, but Magnus couldn’t resist spoiling him.

Pet supplies were one of the few places Magnus bothered to pay attention to where he conjured items from. He wasn’t going to take food or blankets or heartworm pills from a shelter. Sometimes he even resorted to buying them. He had to make sure he provided the very best for each and every one of the strays he was responsible for.


End file.
